REVIEW: Romeo’s Distress

Romeo’s Distress is a homage to the quirky, disarming in the way it harkens back to ancient John Waters caricatures and the soft side of indie 80’s films, from which it derives an influence. But the darker themes within it turn with sinister purpose upon the viewer, creating a strange, uneven pastiche of genres that meld together into a grim conclusion that holds little of its initial innocence. It is both a parody and a homage to the indie greats that have gone on before, and it works quite well.

First, it must be said, this is a feature length indie movie made on an insanely tiny budget (I believe IMDB lists the budget at around $2,000) and yet still maintains high production values thanks to highly creative camera work and a keen understanding of using black and white imagery to great dramatic advantage. The influences on Romeo’s Distress are obvious, with some harkening back to David Lynch’s classic Eraserhead, especially in scenes of grandma’s creepy munchies. These nightmare glimpses are paired off with the goofy dreams of the protagonist, James, who is portrayed in the first half of the film as a childish, cartoonish optimist seeking to let the girl he loves know he adores her. James is very much an immature young man, one whose innocent perspective places him at his odds with what at first seems to be his victimization by a bully, played to perfection by actor Adam Stordy. But there are subtle hints along the way that something far more sinister is going on and James may not be the sweet, loveable, nerdy hero of a simple first love story as the viewer was led to believe.

The shift in point of view to that of Jane’s father is both dramatic and seamless, the foreshadowing clear throughout. Director Jeff Frumess has an excellent grip on suspense and would do well to explore more of this darkness in future works. As we are plunged into the sadistic perspective of Jane’s father, played with malicious glee by actor Jeffrey Alan Solomon, the story becomes a bleak nightmare of torture and revenge. The remaining forty-five minutes of Romeo’s Distress are well worth the surreal wait as the differences in points of view and are highly polarized using unrelated genre styles as a way to enhance that contrast. It’s 80’s indie kitsch meets Fritz Lang. Jane’s father may well have good reasons for doing what he does, as James’s creepy, childlike flashbacks of stalking his daughter adds more fire to the tense scenes, reality brutally clashing with hokey fantasy.

Keep an eye on actor Adam Stordy, who plays Bobby Samson. His portrayal of a young man with conflicted ethics adds a further layer of tense, gritty realism that contrasts greatly with James’s cartoonish perspective.

The camera work is astonishing. This is very well produced stuff for a budget that is literally out of a paper bag. I’m very excited to see the evolution of Jeff Frumess’s style in the years to come. With unapologetic originality and a nod and parody of other indie experimental works in the Lynch and John Waters vein, with a good chunk of Hitchcock thrown in, Frumess is going to be a director to watch. I can’t begin to imagine what he could do with a much larger budget and a much darker script. Frumess has a fantastic understanding of character tension and is not afraid to use challenging camera work, with brutal scenes conveyed in a kaleidoscopic collage of pain, devoid of over reaching special effects and still horrifying in its subtlety.

The film ends with the same handheld camcorder quirkiness that James was so steeped in. A happily ever after within his bubblegum world view, only for it to be tainted by the darker tones of how that happiness came to be, the crueler reality offered in heavily contrasted black and white. Romeo’s Distress is an interesting film, one that both parodies and exalts the evolution of the indie film genre, and offers its own disturbing addition to its ongoing legacy.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Slaughtered Bird Films’ BURN receives its first reviews!

Slaughtered Bird Films and Dragon Egg Media’s debut film collaboration, Burn, has received its first couple of online reviews, after a preview screening at the Triple Six Horror Festival in Manchester, May 27th.
Read on...

INTERVIEW: David Naughton

It’s not every day you get to speak to the lead actor in possibly your favourite horror film of all time. Especially on a Tuesday. Tuesdays are usually rubbish!
David Naughton should need no introduction to horror fans. Back in 1981, An American Werewolf In London had unprepared cinema goers laughing heartily one second and jumping out of their seats in terror the next. Its tale of two young American tourists coming face-to-teeth with a legendary lycanthropic beast perfectly married a genuinely funny script with razor sharp editing, groundbreaking special effects and a flawless cast to create a monster movie that is still many people’s benchmark today
Read on...

Advertise HERE!

We currently have advertising space available at very reasonable rates, so if you have a product you want to let people know about then please email us at theslaughteredbird@gmail.com with your needs and we can give you more info.
Read on...

- By Kriss Pickering
Do you know, as I’ve got older, I have really developed a taste for short films by the star directors of tomorrow. I have really started to appreciate the love and attention that goes into what is usually a passion project for the writers/directors, and they usually reek of originality that many of today's features sadly lack.

- By MovieCritic NextDoor
Somewhere in Budapest, there's a mysterious basement, though 'basement' seems too tame a word for something that spreads out for blocks and is filled with twisting hallways, dead ends, and doors that unlock only when they feel like it. The basement is private property and difficult to find, but rumors of its existence are everywhere, attracting ghost hunters and thrill seekers from all over the world.

- By Dave Dubrow
There’s an old joke that goes something like, “If God can do anything, can He create a rock so heavy that even He couldn’t lift it?” Adapted to the cinema, the question becomes, “Can you make a slasher flick so bad that even Dee Wallace couldn’t save it?

- By Chris Barnes
To coincide with the pleasantly-surprising, intense found footage flick THE TRIANGLE's UK release (reviewed right HERE), I was lucky enough to catch up with one of the 5 main men behind its creation, ADAM STILWELL.
Adam!

- By Mikel Iriarte
Ahead of it's UK release this coming Monday, July 10th, we had the pleasure of spending some time with BED OF THE DEAD star ALYSA KING.
We'd previously met Alysa at Shriekfest Film Festival back in 2014 where she was promoting her latest film, Berkshire County, so it was lovely to have a catch-up and hear all about her latest bloodsoaked offering...

Following on from Stephen Harper's complimentary review of wacky action romp KARATE KILL (out this month on DVD and Blu-ray), we chatted to star Ben Dukes for The Slaughtered Bird.
How did you get involved in Karate Kill?

“I’m telling you that ‘thing’ upstairs isn’t my daughter…”
Forty-five years after William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel terrified an entire generation, The Exorcist will be unleashed onto the West End stage for the very first time in a uniquely theatrical experience directed by Sean Mathias and adapted for the stage by John Pielmeier.

Award-winning indie hit EGOMANIAC will be having its Video on Demand release on August 15th in the UK, USA and Canada. The second feature film by writer-director Kate Shenton (Screen International Rising Horror Star nominee) will be available to rent and buy on iTunes.

A message from the London Horror Festival:
We are pleased to inform you that submissions are open to UK based playwrights for the London Horror Festival Playwriting Competition, in association with the Old Red Lion Theatre.